Member Reviews
I enjoyed this book, it was certainly different in a sleepwalking kind of way. I really could not get to like Anna O, no matter whether she was asleep or not. There was something very creepy about her character.
As to the family relationship of Ben and his wife and child, that seems to be equally perplexing, do they care or not?
Like several other reviews I did find that the convoluted ending made me wonder what I had actually been reading all week.
However, as I said it was different and and offered something I had never thought about crime and sleepwalking.
Worth a read.
This book sadly wasn't for me, I found it hard to keep engaged and continue reading. In my eyes it didn't deliver on the description as how good it should be.
Anna O has been asleep for 4 years since she’s alleged to have brutally murdered 2 friends and business partners. Dr Benedict Prince is a psychologist brought in to try and wake her to stand trial. This is twisty and at points I felt like I didn’t draw breath for ages (complimentary!) I couldn’t put this down and it separates itself from other crime thrillers with different POVs throughout. Just when I thought I had it solved there was another twist- fantastic!!
For fans of Alex Michalides.
(Review also posted to Amazon and Waterstones, awaiting authorisation from the respective sites for publishing)
As someone who has a history of sleep walking and talking, the premise of this book intrigued me. The early part of the book held that promise for me, I knew my enjoyment would be hinged on the reveal of the plot.
Unfortunately, the book didn’t live up to my expectations. I found the reveal of the story to be convoluted, farcically so. At times, I found myself scratching my head, perplexed by the story. As a reader, I love a good twist, but this was overly drawn out, and stretched plausibility too far.
I’m sure there are many readers who will love Anna O, but I’m afraid it wasn’t for me. Just 3⭐️
Struggled to get into this, I was disappointed as it didn’t live up to the hype surrounding it. Some may enjoy it but it wasn’t for me.
I was very much looking forward to this book and was really enjoying it. Anna’s story was remarkable and was nicknamed sleeping beauty. Imagine being asleep for such a length of time after it is believed you committed murder. I fell in love with Ben the sleep dr who believes he can wake Anna. The book was a real page turner until the last quarter. I was disappointed in the ending and the further deaths that followed. The book was so well written and I would imagine if it is ever made into film/series I hope they change the ending.
The premise for this book grabbed me far more than the execution. I wasn't overly keen on the point of view being predominantly from the doctor, and so many parts in the story had me thinking "well, if the police did just a little bit of delving..." Ultimately though the bookhinged on the payoff where we find out the real story behind everything and it was such a long bit of exposition that really didn't click with me that I came away thinking " that was a bit silly". Easy to read, but was it worth it??
Though the concept was promising, I felt the pacing and length of this title dragged it down and that the plot got too tangled in itself. The pacing was too slow until the climax - by this point I had lost interest.
An enjoyable read, took me a while to get into though.
Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.
I do like a book with an unreliable narrator, and Anna O has them in spades! You won’t know who to trust - even the people you’re supposed to be able to rely on will prove thoroughly untrustworthy. And everyone in this novel has a secret or two that they don’t want anyone to know about.
The Anna O in question, is a woman who committed murder and then immediately fell asleep. Four years later, the Home Office want Dr. Benedict Prince, a specialist in sleep disorders, to wake her up. He’s reluctant to be involved with the case because of his own secrets, and as the story continues his fears are proven correct.
This is an exciting read believe it or not, even though one of the main characters is asleep!
The short chapters means the story races along, and I was repeatedly left on a cliffhanger.
What a ride this story was!!
This thriller turned out to be anything but thrilling... I don't often give negative reviews, but I must admit that I really struggled with this book. It took me months to finish, which is quite rare for me, as I usually devour books quickly. Unfortunately, this one proved to be quite a challenge, and I'm relieved to finally be done with it.
I had high hopes for this book, considering it seemed to be right up my alley. However, it turned out to be a slow read that failed to capture my interest and build momentum as I progressed.
This has a thrilling premise but its pacing is a little off. It moves more slowly than expected and the characters are difficult to connect with.
Absolutely wonderful book, I loved every moment spent in the world of the characters. Dilemmas and joys all expertly crafted thank you!
An enjoyable novel although the plot is a bit far fetched.
Anna Ogilvy was found with a knife in her hand next to the bodies of her two best friends. Did she kill them whilst sleepwalking? Since the killing she has remained asleep and nothing can be done to wake her. Four years have passed and the Ministry of Justice calls in Dr Benedict Prince to wake her so that she can be put on trial for murder. The plot is convoluted with many different strands which all coming together for a satisfactory conclusion.
Okay, what the hell. I feel really quite cheated by this novel. At first I was engaged by the idea of people committing crimes in their sleep. I have a sleepwalking child so I was really quite intrigued behind the science of it all. And then that bloody ending...I mean seriously what was that? It didn't make sense, there seemed to have been zero clues to how it was going to play out. I felt like I'd wasted the best part of a week, when I should have just followed my instincts and DNF'd the book early on.
Ben - quite one dimensional and quite often fails to see the bigger picture.
Anna O - I'm not even sure what to say about her character arc.
Not quite sure what to say about this book. It is well plotted and the background appears to be well researched. The storyline keeps you hooked but is interspersed with many passages explaining sleep disorders which `although perhaps necessary in part I did find a little tedious
The eponymous Anna has been asleep for four years and is suspected of two murders. A specialist in sleep disorders with connections to the original investigation is tasked with trying to rouse her from the sleep and it has disastrous consequences for him personally.
The twists in the story are excellent and surprising but I feel the story would have benefited from tighter editing to move it along at a somewhat faster place resulting in my score of 4 stars rather than 5..
I skim read a lot of this as it seemed a bit slow in places, but an enjoyable story nonetheless.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
As soon as I read the plot for this one I was instantly intrigued and knew I had to read this book, it sincerely did not disappoint!
This is so well crafted and addictive, feels really different to other thrillers I’ve read and kept me up way past my bedtime reading it until the end! The suspense and tension give you shivers, you won’t work out the twist and it will honestly make you question everything! Brilliant!
I read Anna O by Matthew Blake around July time last year but completely forgot to review it! I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ as I enjoyed the story but I wasn’t as hooked as I think I could have been. It was definitely an interesting plot but could have been improved.
Anna O committed a murder of two best friends. In her sleep. And she hasn’t woken up since then - 4 years ago.
Is the thriller in the room with us ?
This is the most unthrilling thriller ever...
The concept is amazing this book is far too long for no reason. The idea is amazing and the execution fell flat. It tried too hard to be witty and funny falling flat every time to the point of cringe. I don't even know exactly where it went wrong but it happened in the first 15% and never recovered.